Finding Family

Faye: Birthdays

It was a tradition in our house that on people's birthdays we spent time together as a family, either on the day of the birthday or the next time we were all together for most of a day (because for obvious work related reasons we weren't always together on our birthdays), but the last time we'd done it (which had been for Mick and I's birthdays as we celebrated both together more often than not) it hadn't felt right. Because all three of us had been aware of the fact we weren't all together as a family, which really was how it had always felt for me but it had just been different in November. But now Evalynn was home that wasn't a problem anymore. So Benjamin's birthday was very exciting for me, even though it wasn't exactly an exciting day. I knew we'd end up playing games and going for an 'adventure' as a family like normal, but it was special.
I'd told Evalynn about birthdays being a special day and (after me doing a little explaining) asked her not to make any plans to go out with her friends that day and she'd willingly agreed. She was quite excited, though as she'd told me a lot about what her life had been like for the last 11 years now, I'd come to understand that was probably to do with the fact regularly spending time as a whole family doing things was still a relatively new experience for her. I still felt angry at myself when I remembered it was my fault she'd ended up there, but she adored me anyway and told me that she'd never be angry at me for it because I'd done what was best for us both, so that made it a bit better at least. I still wasn't sure it would ever make me completely forgive myself, but it was a comfort.

On the morning of Benjamin's birthday, me and him were playing with teddies and getting them ready to take them for an adventure while both Evalynn and Mick were doing other things quickly. I was taking one of my teddies that was my 'adventure teddy' that had always been taken to different places with me, and Benjamin had decided he'd take Blue. I heard someone else come into the room, but I was too busy helping Benjamin with putting his teddy in it's outfit to look up and see who it was.
"Evvy get your teddy!" He called to her.
I smiled to myself, glancing over to see her looking very confused. "The teddies are going to come with us on an adventure." I told her.
"Oh! Okay then." She said with a grin before running back out the room to go find one.
After another few minutes she came back with Josie and the box of tiny clothes that she had for her two beloved teddies. As she searched through the box to pick something that was similar in style to what Benjamin and I had dressed Blue up in, I realised what some of the different outfits she had for the bears were attempts at and smiled. I'd noticed before a few of the outfits Josie or Faye Bear (who after much consideration was going to keep her name) got dressed up in were very obvious nods to different Steps music video looks, but it had never fully clicked in my head until then when I saw a fair few of them together. I refrained from commenting, thinking it may not go down the best given how long it had taken me to notice, but smiled at the collection anyway.
"And... you've realised." Evalynn teased when she glanced over at me and saw my expression.
I laughed and nodded. "Yeah... I had before it just... took a while to sink in."
She then found the teddy top she wanted and smiled, putting it to one side and then looking for matching teddy trousers, which she found almost immediately. She then proceeded to put everything else back away in the box again before changing her attentions to the the teddy.

"Shall we go explore then?" Evalynn had Josie ask Blue when she was done.
"Yeah!" Ben had Blue reply.
And so while we waited for Mick to be ready Josie, Blue and Lyra (my teddy) went on an adventure round the perils of the living room, the bears running along the grand sofaback cliffs and climbing to the highest peaks of the tabletop mountains.
"What are you lot doing?" Mick laughed as he looked into the living room.
"Having a teddy adventure!" Evalynn replied with a grin.
"You could join." Ben added.
I couldn't help but laugh at how cute they were. The way that despite the nearly 8 year age gap between them they'd both found something they could enjoy together. The fact that they really were like friends.
"And you Mrs?" He laughed, offering me a hand up off the floor.
 I took up his offer and laughed too. "Oh you know the same, as you usually find."
"You're adorable." He said as he took me into a hug. I blushed but didn't reply, listening as Benjamin and Evalynn went back to their game without me. I slipped my arms round Mick and smiled to myself. It wouldn't hurt just to have a moment like this.
"I'm still so happy about all this. Today just feels like it'll be the final proof." I told him.
"We've talked about this. She's part of our family. She's happy, you and Ben are happy, I'm happy okay? She's more amazing about all this than I'd thought. Faye, no matter what she's one of us now okay." He whispered to me.
"Yeah." I replied. "Family." We spent another moment hugging each other like that before deciding it was time we all went out and walked together.